As Vincent Tan continued flipping through the textbook, his eyes suddenly locked onto a grotesque image.
His pupils contracted. He froze on the spot.
The page displayed a terrifying red monster that looked like a human stripped of skin, revealing nothing but exposed muscle tissue.
It moved on all fours, with thick, razor-sharp claws, and a grotesquely long tongue lolling from its mouth like an oversized frog.
Vincent recognized it instantly.
A Licker.
Straight out of Resident Evil.
"Wait a second... is Forbidden Zone #2 based on the Resident Evil universe?"
Vincent's eyes narrowed in shock.
At that moment, the short old professor at the front of the room knocked on the desk and began to speak.
"Alright, put the books down for now. Listen up."
"My name is Professor Zhou. I'll be the one teaching your Forbidden Zone course going forward."
"Before we dive into specifics about Zone #2, let me give you a brief overview of the world you're dealing with."
"Zone #2 was originally a peaceful, normal world. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a viral outbreak plunged the planet into chaos. The virus infected most of the global population. Infected individuals quickly lost their minds and transformed into horrifying, mindless creatures driven only by instinct the zombies you just saw in your books."
"Once infected, a human will attack any living creature, devouring fresh flesh and blood."
"They feel no fear. They don't hesitate. They're relentless and hard to kill. Striking any part of their body won't bring them down."
"The only weakness is the brain."
"But don't worry too much. The zombies in Zone #2 have no intelligence. They move slowly. They're not that dangerous. As long as you don't panic, don't freeze, and most importantly, don't let yourself get surrounded, you'll be fine."
"This is why Zone #2 is considered the safest of all the Forbidden Zones aside from Zone #1 and it's why it's used as training ground for first-time explorers like yourselves."
"Just remember this. The higher the number of the zone, the more dangerous it is."
"That being said, Zone #2 has its own set of terrifying threats. When you encounter those, you'll need to be especially cautious."
"Turn to page five."
Everyone flipped to page five as instructed.
The image on the page was of a crow.
But this was no ordinary bird. Its body was decaying. Part of its torso was rotting, and its eyes were a lifeless white, no pupils at all.
Clearly infected.
Professor Zhou continued, "The real danger in Zone #2 isn't the zombies. It's the infected animals."
"Many of these creatures retain their natural instincts after infection. Take this crow, for example. It can still fly. If you ever run into a flock of them, your life will be in serious danger."
"There was a case during the early expeditions into Zone #2 where the government sent in a squad of special ops soldiers to investigate."
"They encountered a swarm of infected crows."
"The result? Out of thirty-two seasoned soldiers, only one made it out alive."
Gasps echoed throughout the classroom.
Many students turned pale.
If even elite soldiers couldn't survive, what hope did they, mere freshmen, have if they encountered such a threat?
Professor Zhou ignored the unease spreading through the room and calmly continued, "And there's something even more dangerous than the crows. Turn to page seven."
Page seven featured a twisted image of a mutated zombie dog.
Its appearance alone was enough to make several more timid students audibly gasp.